


Luka´s Reading Steiner

by ErinTesden



Category: Steins;Gate
Genre: Alternate Universe - Normal Life, Comedy, Crying, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-04 07:05:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15836238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErinTesden/pseuds/ErinTesden
Summary: Urushibara Luka, aka Lukako.The mannerisms and the voice of a woman... No. More feminine than any woman... But he is a boy.About Lukako and what would happen if he had been the one with the Reading Steiner, ability to preserve his memories from one timeline to the other, instead of Okabe. (Oneshot)





	Luka´s Reading Steiner

**Author's Note:**

> This is the english translation of my first oneshot and crossposted from Fanfiction.net. I'm not an english native speaker so there could be some redactions problems. I'll try to correct as much of them as I can.
> 
> This oneshot is an introspection of Luka Urushibara´s character, showing his life and how he would be affected if it were him instead of Okabe who had the ability to retain his memories after going to different time lines.
> 
> I need to mention, Im writing this story using the original visual novel as a basis; cuz unfortunately I have not had yet the opportunity to watch Steins;Gate Zero, so there could be inconsistencies. The same way, I writed Luka under my own interpretation of his character.
> 
> Additionally, I have to warning you that there are references to Luka's feelings for Okabe. Although that is kinda inevitable with Luka.
> 
> Anyways, enjoy.

**LUKA´S READING STEINER**

Urushibara Luka always knew he wasn't a normal boy.

He could remember several times when being just a little child, someone would approach his father and him on the street to say hello; inevitably congratulating him and mentioning how gorgeous his "daughter" was.

His father would correct them without changing his affable expression, saying that Luka was a boy.

Even at that age Luka could notice it, the adult's expression change at those words, as some of them thought his father was joking, and those strange glances directed at him later, when they understood that wasn't the case.

The only thing Luka could do was hide behind his father or lower his head.

Why do adults reacted like that to him? Was there something strange about him?

* * *

When Luka started going to elementary school he understood that, in fact, there was something strange about him.

Everyone, both teachers and classmates reacted in the same strange way before him. Normal at first, until the topic of his gender emerged, and then everyone seemed confused and incredulous at the notion that Luka really could be a boy...

The adults seemed to recover quickly and they continued as usual. But that was not the case with the other children. Children are cruel.

Throughout the first week of classes Luka tried and tried to make friends with the boys in his class, but they treated him the same way or worse than they treated the girls; the boys moved away from him as if he had the plague, and only approached to mock or mess with him.

Everyone around Luka made friends and formed groups with each other, while he was still alone. Luka began to think that nothing would change until one day a group of girls approached and invited him to play with them.

Only the girls seemed to want him close, and they talked and played with him. It was easy for Luka to notice the apparent reason.

They didn't treat him like the other boys in the class, but as if he were just another girl. It was strange and certainly made him feel uncomfortable and out of place often, but he tried to be happy with the idea that at least he wasn't going to be the ignored child without friends after all.

But that happiness was ephemeral. With the pass of time Luka finally realized the true reason of why the girls kept him close. They really didn't see him as a friend, but as a doll. A strange and unique doll, which they treated as they pleased to entertain themselves for a while, but which they ignored and abandoned for long periods of time when they eventually ended up bored from playing with it. Sometimes they went further and were directly cruel to him behind a mask of false friendliness. It wasn't that different from the way his older sister treated him.

Luka tried to endure this situation for the sake of not being alone, but each time it became more and more difficult. Until during his fifth year of elementary school everything reached a point where Luka came to feel more at peace and happy being alone than with his "friends". So he finally decided to get away from them.

He tried to be as subtle as possible.

But it wasn't enough.

His "friends" understood what Luka intended to do and they weren't happy at all. From their point of view, Luka was being ungrateful, while they had been kind enough to share some of their time with a "freak" like him, whom no one else wanted near.

From then on the girls abandoned any subtlety and began to be as cruel and bad to him as the rest of the class. No. Luka could easily tell that they were much worse.

And so Luka spent his last two years of elementary school completely alone.

* * *

The middle school wasn't much better. Things changed but not for better.

At that age when girls slowly start to become women and boys become men, Luka finally came to understand what differentiated him so much from the other boys in his class.

Whereas most of the boys began to differentiate themselves from the girls by becoming taller, heavier, and stronger. He was still a bit short for a boy, and he was thin and somewhat weak. Delicate to put it in a single word, and likewise, were his features. He was simply and plainly as feminine as the girls, or maybe even more so.

The boys in his class considered him pathetic.

The girls, who were already becoming interested in the opposite sex, considered him insignificant and preferred to ignore him. Although some of them were especially cruel and malicious for reasons that Luka did not understand.

If someone had explained to him that they were like that because of their envy; for the delicate nature of his figure, the beauty of his face and his soft voice; Luka wouldn't have been able to believe them. After all, who could envy someone who was as unhappy as him?

* * *

Luka didn't hold a grudge against her sister.

Despite the way she treated him the fact was that Luka couldn't come to hate her. After all, both were, not only brothers, but equal and opposite at the same time.

While he was a delicate and feminine boy, she was a rude and somewhat tomboyish girl. She had that confidence and strength that Luka lacked but wanted so much to have. If you could say something about it, Luka actually envied her sister. She had a lot of friends, while the only person Luka could trust was his father.

His father... Luka had to admit, his father was strange.

The priest was a person loved and respected by all the community. An affable and gentle man, and a loving and protective father. Despite all his work, he was always there to his children and accepted them as they were. Maybe... A little too much.

While Luka had come to hate his feminine appearance and way to be, his father seemed to take it as some kind of blessing.

For Luka that made no sense, being unable to find the good thing about his appearance and considering it as something that needed to change.

Being more masculine and stronger, gaining more self-confidence. And finally get friends. Real friends. That was his dream.

However, although without malicious intent, his father only made things difficult for him, believing that because he was a boy with a feminine appearance it was good to buy him clothes that clearly embroidered on the androgynous. And it didn't help Luka that he not only had become accustomed to wearing those kinds of clothes, but to his own mortification, he had to admit that he liked to do it.

And then his father bought him the uniform of Miko (priestess).

It happened shortly after his sister moved from the house to live independently. He had decided to offer a hand to his father with the temple, now that his sister was no longer there to help him. And the priest accepted immediately. The fact that he had bought a Miko's uniform with the exact size for Luka in advance made it clear that he had been waiting for that to happen.

Luka could lie and say that he refused to wear such a thing until the very end. But the reality was that only a few seconds of appreciating the uniform closely were enough for his will and resistance to disappear.

Luka would never be aware of it, but from then on the legend of the inhumanly beautiful Miko of the temple in Akihabara would be born.

* * *

Before realizing, Luka's middle school days were over.

Finally, he would be a high school student. And Luka wasn't sure if he felt happy or depressed about it. Being that he had barely survived the last years thanks to the constant support of his father, and the notion that although he didn't have the same strength than his sister, if someone who was as strange as him had managed to make friends and be happy, he also had a possibility.

And maintaining that hope finally paid off.

That first day of Luka as a high school student, he met Shiina Mayuri. His first friend

* * *

In her own way Mayuri was like Luka.

She wasn't like the other girls, there was something strange about her, something unusual, and Luka was sure that she was aware of it. But that and what others thought of her didn't seem to influence what Mayuri did or didn't do, always living in her own world. She was strong in that sense, and yet she was the kindest person Luka had ever known. She never judged or mistreated him. Mayuri looked at the strangeness in Luka, everything for which he had been ignored and mistreated for so long, and accepted it as part of Luka. Things that made him who he was.

Luka finally learned how good it felt to have someone besides his father who accepted him as he was and cared for his well-being and happiness. Someone to fill that void inside him that had been occupied for such a long time by that awful loneliness.

Mayuri always tried to include him in what she did, show him the things that she liked and made her happy, to try to make Luka happy too. And through it, Luka got to know so many different, but kind and good-hearted people as the young girl.

Luka couldn't be happier... Something that his father noticed immediately.

—Shiina-chan is really a very good girl. Luka really likes her, right? —His father commented innocently before continuing with his duties.

Luka remained standing in the same place, totally motionless and as red as a tomato.

* * *

" _...I like Mayuri-chan...?_ "

That thought invaded his mind, making uncomfortable all his conversations with Mayuri, and tormenting him every time he didn't occupy his mind with something else. It made sense, she was so gentle... His only and greatest friend. Of course Luka liked Mayuri...

But that wasn't the point.

" _Did... I fell in love with Mayuri-chan?_ "

He thinked in how happy he was when being close to her, and the sadness he felt when for some reason she couldn't be there.

But still... Wasn't that due to the fact that she had been his first friend? The fact that Luka didn't want to lose her?

Was it love or just friendship?

Luka was terrified. He was just beginning to understand how it worked to have friends and interact with other people. Dealing with that kind of complicated feeling so soon... He wasn't prepared.

One day Luka managed to arm himself with courage, as much as possible for him at least, and decided to test his feelings.

He invited Mayuri to hang out at the local amusement park after school. Mayuri accepted happily, as Luka expected.

His goal was clear, Luka would do his best to take the role of a boy in a date; he would try to be as chivalrous as possible, invite Mayuri to eat, maybe try to win some prizes for her, and mainly, convince her to go up to all the attractions of the park considered for couples. He would try to be subtle, as subtle as possible considering how nervous he was, and see how everything turned out.

It was a disaster.

His attempts to be chivalrous were as uncomfortable as he expected, and Luka seriously doubted that Mayuri even noticed his attentions. The food wasn't bad at all, although Luka couldn't convince her to let him pay for both, and additionally, Luka was clumsy enough to stain his own clothes while eating.

The skill games proved to be depressing. Apparently Luka didn't have skills for them at all.

And finally, regarding the park attractions, Mayuri didn't seem to act differently than usual, obviously not being aware that Luka was trying to create a romantic atmosphere.

Luka couldn't help feeling increasingly depressed and regretful that he had even decided to invite Mayuri to come.

Nevertheless...

—Luka-kun, do you know...? —The voice of his friend interrupted his thoughts—. Mayushii is having a lot of fun —She said and smiled sweetly.

Of course. Mayuri had noticed the slump in his mood, even though she didn't understand the reasons, and wanted him to have fun too.

After all. Unlike Luka who had been all day pretending to have a date with Mayuri, for her it was just an outing with a friend. Her best friend.

All the discomfort and nerves that Luka felt disappeared after that. Understanding how Mayuri felt, he discarded all his plans and was finally able to start having fun with his friend.

He never needed to force things. Not with Mayuri.

Now it was obvious to him, Mayuri was his friend, and only that. Maybe things could change in the future. But for now, that was the reality, and he was happy and satisfied with it.

Something like love could wait.

At least that's what Luka believed.

* * *

Okabe Rintarou. Or Hououin Kyouma, as he preferred to be called; Luka couldn't help but keep thinking about him, even after returning to the temple.

Okabe had rescued him from a group of guys who had started harassing him. It was thanks to his intervention that Luka managed to gather enough courage to get out of that situation, although it left him with a bad taste and a blow in his not that big self-esteem. In the end, despite everything, Okabe stayed with him and tried, in his own way, to raise his spirits, which he achieved.

That day Okabe named him his disciple, and as a sign of their connection, he bought him Samidare, the great demonic sword, and gave him his first nickname, "Lukako". The fact that the -ko made reference to how feminine he was, made Luka feel quite uncomfortable to be called like that by Okabe at first. But Okabe had made clear the reason behind that nickname, although Luka find it hard to believe it.

Because for Okabe, the feminine characteristics in Luka were not a bad thing but part of his "potential", a potential that he should accept in order to grow and move forward. But even with those words from Okabe, that seemed impossible for Luka.

* * *

Okabe turned out to be "Okarin", Mayuri's childhood friend whom she had talked about so much before.

With that new connection between them, Okabe's visits to the temple, at least once or twice a week, to train him and monitor his progress become commonplace. As well, Luka would occasionally visit Okabe's apartment, or the "Future Gadgets Laboratory", as Okabe preferred to call it.

As Luka spent more and more time with Okabe, more admiration came to felt for him, and more strived to meet Okabe's expectations.

Luka didn't want to fail him. Because Luka wanted to be like Okabe.

It was easy for Luka to notice; Okabe was the same as Mayuri and him. Okabe was an unusual person, immensely, and it was something that Luka couldn't deny. But Okabe didn't try to hide it, instead he externalize it as much as possible, and boasted about it. And in the end, under the mask of madness, intellectuality, egocentrism and theatricality that he used almost as a weapon, Okabe was a man with a heart of gold.

And so, Okabe became a constant in his thoughts.

And Luka was deeply undecided between whether that was a good or a bad thing.

* * *

Luka was scared.

No. To say that he was totally terrified was more accurate.

It happened pretty fast.

He was sweeping the leaves of the temple stairs. Taking a moment to observe the time on his wristwatch, he could not help but smile. Okabe was going to visit him in a while, so he had to finish his chores soon.

However, it was at that moment that "it" started.

A terrifying and unknown sensation that paralyzed his whole body and clouded his eyes, as if he were floating in a void from which he would never be able to escape. And as fast as the strange feeling started, it was over, and his vision returned to normal.

However, Luka didn't need even a second to notice how everything was completely wrong... The broom that had been in his hands a moment ago had disappeared and wasn't even close. And worse, he wasn't in the temple anymore.

Luka turned and looked around. He was in a park, not that far from the area where Okabe's department was located. Luka had become accustomed to visiting the place and observing the beautiful central fountain when he felt sad or depressed about something. It helped him to relax.

On this occasion, however. It was doing the opposite.

What had happened? Why was he there? He didn't remember even thinking about going there that day, he was waiting for a visitor after all.

The confusion of the situation was beginning to scare him until he managed to convince himself that maybe he had been more stressed these days than he thinked. And he had only walked there without paying much attention or being aware of it, no matter how absurd that sounded.

At least that was better than the alternative...

As he made his way back to the temple, hoping not to leave Okabe waiting for him, he took a second to check his wristwatch again, and he stopped suddenly. It had only been two minutes since the last time he had checked the time… There was no possible way for him to move from the temple to the park in such a short time frame.

Once he returned to the temple he sat motionless on one of the steps waiting for Okabe's arrival.

He never arrived.

When Luka checked his phone later, he found a readed message from Okabe saying he wouldn't be able to visit him that day.

Luka didn't remember receiving or reading that message.

* * *

The strange event of that day kept repeating itself in the days that followed, and things only got worse.

It wasn't just a matter of Luka changing locations instantaneously and without explanation, sometimes the clothes he was wearing also changed, as well as the people who were or weren't with him at the time; they could come to appear or disappear, or be replaced by other people.

Luka wasn't able to understand the reason behind those bizarre events. And more often than not, find himself in conversations about events and topics he hadn't the slightest idea that had happened.

Luka never said anything about it and tried to continue with his life.

What else could he do? If he said anything, nobody would believe him, they would think he was just going crazy. Which seemed most likely.

* * *

A lot of stuff happened since that first awful experience. Among the few good ones Luka could remember was meeting Makise Kurisu, or Christina as Okabe called her (among other more "flashy" nicknames). She was a... Friend of Okabe...? Luka wasn't quite sure. Kurisu was a really friendly person, and as intelligent as Okabe, but where he was eccentric, Kurisu was rational and level headed. Both didn't seem able to talk for more than a minute without ending up arguing. Anyone would say they didn't get along, but Luka couldn't help but think that was the strange way in which the friendship of those two worked. Luka was frankly somewhat jealous of her.

Fortunately, he didn't have enough time to think on the exact reason behind that jealousy, thanks to the growing dread and stress he felt every time "that" happened.

Things came to a point where everyone around Luka began to notice that something was affecting him negatively. But Luka didn't want them to worry about him. Whatever was happening Luka would try to deal with it by himself, as best as he could. He didn't want to cause problems for his dear friends and father.

Unfortunately there was little he could do to prevent them from intervening on their own.

* * *

—O-Okabe, p-please l-let me go! —Exclaimed Luka trying to get away from the grip of Okabe, who was taking him out of his room, in which he had decided to lock himself.

However, there was little Luka could do to resist. Okabe was normally much stronger than him, but after spending several days almost without sleeping or eating, Luka felt especially weakened.

Additionally, even if he managed to get rid of Okabe, he would still have to escape from Mayuri, Kurisu and Daru who were there as well. And in the state Luka was even Mayuri alone could easily stop him.

—Huh, why is Okabe the one who does the best part...? —Daru asked, more to annoying Okabe than anything else. The hacker was standing in front of the door frame in the unlikely event that Luka escaped from Okabe's grip and tried to re-enter his room. Like Mayuri and Kurisu, it was difficult for him to not notice the poor state in which the already fragile boy was.

After all, Luka seemed to be thinner than usual, his face was quite pale and showed deep eye bags. Besides, the messy, disheveled hair and wrinkled pajamas he wore, showed that Luka's father had not exaggerated when talking to them about the situation, the boy hadn't left his room in days.

—Shut up, Daru —Aanswered Okabe bluntly. He understood that Daru was trying to break the ice or something, but it wasn't the right moment. Things had gone completely out of hand. For focusing so much on experimenting with the D-Mails he hadn't noticed in time how Luka was distancing himself from them.

—P-Please... Leave me alone... —Luka asked desperate, but the expressions of the lab members only became more severe.

—We can't. Not when Luka-kun is like that. Because we are all friends, right? —Mayuri said, trying to sound positive, although she almost felt like crying. She had noticed the change in Luka's attitude from the beginning, but she hadn't managed to help him by herself. Even now, Luka refused to answer and just looked away.

—It doesn't matter what it is, we can find a way to solve it, Luka-kun! —Kurisu tried to cheer the boy and take him out of the shell from where he refused to leave.

Actually, in this situation it could be said that she was the intruder, the one who least knew Luka, but it was obvious for her that he was a very sweet boy. Unfortunately, as Okabe, she had allowed herself to be too much absorbed in the experiments with the D-Mails...

Daru just nodded. He was well aware of his own lack of tact, and he knew there was little he could say in this situation that the girls hadn't said already.

—I-I... D-Don't want to be a burden... —It was the truth. Luka was scared, so terrified of everything that was happening to him, but even so he didn't want to involve them.

—Lukako —Okabe said sternly, and Luka stopped talking—. Rejecting the help offered by those closest to you doesn't make you stronger. Just makes it clear that you really don't think we can help you and make a difference —Luka opened his mouth in horror. Was that the way the others saw his behavior?—. Tell us. Are we so useless in Lukako's eyes?

—N-No! I don't-! —Luka went even paler than before.

—Then let us help you —Okabe said with finality.

Daru and Kurisu didn't comment; those kinds of moments were unique; those few times that Okabe opened his mouth and said things that made sense.

Okabe took Luka to the living room of the house, and the five of them sat around the small tea table in the middle of the room.

Luka sat down slowly, and lowered his head, while the others looked at him worriedly.

—Ejem —Okabe cleared his throat to interrupt the uncomfortable silence in the room—. Lukako. Tell us what is the problem.

—E-Eh —Luka blinked, Okabe was being as straightforward as always—. I-It's something b-hard to believe... —Even he found it hard to believe after all.

—That's something we'll decide —Of course, at that point there was no way that Okabe would stop at an excuse like that.

So without any other choice Luka began to tell them about the strange experiences he had been living, taking his time and keeping his eyes on the table at all times. He didn't want to see the disbelief and pity growing in the eyes of his friends.

Luka finished his story and fell silent. Now he could only wait for the judgment of the lab members.

And then Okabe rested his hands on his shoulder.

—L-Lukako has been chosen —Luka noticed Okabe's strange tone of voice and couldn't help but look up. Okabe's face was so close.

It was difficult for Luka not to admire Okabe's Eyes, with his curious coloration, varying between brown and a greenish tone according to the lighting. Luka could no longer see the seriousness and concern in them, they had been replaced by surprise and what seemed excitement.

—What are you doing, idiot?! —Kurisu moved to push Okabe away from the flushed, trembling boy.

—STOP! —Okabe moved his arm to stop Kurisu, and looked at her still facing Luka—. Didn't you notice it?! How Lukako's story fits perfectly...! —Okabe turned his eyes back to Luka—. It's the Reading Steiner.

—What...?! —Kurisu exclaimed, while Mayuri and Luka murmured Okabe's words, at least as much as their level of english pronunciation allowed them.

—Ugh, not the chuunibyou  **(1)**  again... —Daru muttered annoyed, and Kurisu couldn't help but agree with him.

The Reading Steiner was one of the typical fictitious and pointless terms that Okabe loved to babble when acting like a lunatic.

Being specific, it had arisen as a result of the inevitable stagnation of the D-Mail experiments.

The fact was that, although Kurisu had to admit as real the ability of D-Mails to change the past, not only did they still ignore a lot of details about its functioning, but they had to deal with the fact that every "successful" experiment with the D-Mail resulted in a change in the events of the past, which nullified in itself the occurrence of said experiment in the first place, only leaving behind as proof that something had happened a residual message whose origin couldn't be traced because technically and paradoxically speaking hadn't really happened.

That way, one of the biggest problems of the D-Mails ended up being that by their own nature they prevented the existence of an observer who could carry out experiments and later verify their results.

Thus, Okabe created the term Reading Steiner to refer to an ability that could allow an observer to achieve that, retaining his personal memories even after causing a change in the events of the past and move to another timeline.

—The Holder of the Reading Steiner ... —Okabe took the hands of Luka and lifted him from the table, ignoring how entranced the boy was by his actions—. Traveler of one and infinite timelines, but inhabitant of none. Connoisseur of the events that have stopped being. The witness of the change, the beginning and the end...

—Ugh, I knew... —Daru complained, almost feeling sick from so much chuunibyou.

However, Kurisu's reaction this time was more active, stamping his hands on the table.

—Can you stop?! This isn't a good moment to start with the nonsense-! —Kurisu stopped short, noticing Luka's pale face looking at her; the hope that had appeared in his eyes seconds ago, thanks to Okabe's words, wavering again.

Okabe's theory... If she could call it that, it was preposterous. Something that he had literally invented one day because he was frustrated that things were not going the way he wanted. And there was no way she was going to accept it like that.

But that didn't apply to Luka.

Kurisu had a hard time accepting it, but Luka really saw Okabe as someone important in his life and who he could trust, so his words, however absurd, were enough to give Luka some hope and relief in the bizarre situation in which he was. So she had to be careful with what she was going to say and how she was going to say it.

Taking a moment to breathe, she continued quieter.

—Okabe should not make statements like that without having any evidence to lean on...

—Huh? Evidence? —Murmured Okabe, turning to Kurisu with a condescending grin on his face—. We are scientists, Makise Kurisu. So, we should solve this as scientists. Doing an experiment.

And Kurisu accepted his proposal.

Leaving that afternoon so that Luka could recover, eat and sleep well. And the next day they will test if Okabe was right and what Luka had been experiencing was the Reading Steiner or not.

Kurisu, Daru and Okabe left shortly after agreeing superficially about what they were going to do the next day. Mayuri stayed the rest of the afternoon keeping Luka company until his father returned. The priest was immensely happy that Luka had finally left his room. And Luka finally felt as if things could return to normal after all.

He wasn't going crazy, there was an explanation for everything that had happened to him, and there were people who believed that he was telling the truth.

Luka went to bed relatively early, to try to recover from his last days without sleep. Tomorrow would be an important day.

He fell asleep almost immediately.

* * *

Luka awoke to the sound of her table alarm. He felt rejuvenated and at peace; he could have stayed there in bed all day if he didn't know someone would come for him in a while.

The message he received shortly after reminded him of that.

"Lukako, dear disciple of mine, get ready, my assistant will come to pick you up in about half an hour, I'll be waiting for you by the park fountain near the Laboratory. Don't be late. -El Psy Congroo" Luka couldn't help but smile as he read the message with the voice of Okabe.

Luka followed his typical daily routine, took a shower and dressed before going down to breakfast with his father. Kurisu arrived shortly after.

After exchanging greetings with Luka's father, both Kurisu and Luka left the temple. Kurisu turned to him with curiosity in the face.

—So... Okabe sent you a message, Luka-kun?

—Y-Yes —Luka answered with a smile, Kurisu smiled back; It was good to see that the boy felt better already.

—Where did he tell you to go?

—Hmn —Luka was a little perplexed. He supposed that Kurisu would already know —To the park near the laboratory.

—I see —She said with a slight frown, looking thoughtful—. So the message included the address and just that, right? —Luka nodded—. Okabe didn't say anything else, did he? —Luka tilted his head to one side, not understanding what Kurisu might be referring to...—. I mean something like a password.

—A password? —Luka asked back, confused.

—Hey, is fine Luka-kun! Don't worry, it's nothing important —Kurisu interrupted, trying to make him forget the matter. When she notice the expression on Luka she added—. It's something about the experiment. Okabe will already explain it to you later.

And they left the subject there.

They talked a bit about other things on the way to the park until they finally arrived. Kurisu said goodbye and wished him luck, before heading towards the laboratory.

Luka took a deep breath and entered the park.

* * *

Standing in front of the fountain was Okabe, waiting with his arms crossed.

—You are late —He said sternly.

—I-I'm sorry, Oka- Kyouma-san —Luka apologized immediately.

—Hmn... Good —He nodded—. Now that you're here, Lukako, it's time for me to explain… —Okabe said with his characteristic theatricality—. The Eden's Gate operation!

Okabe took a moment of silence to observe the expression of admiration and respect in Lukako. Once his ego was satisfied, he continued.

—It's simple, Lukako. At this precise moment, Daru and Mayuri are in the lab —Okabe took a moment to observe the time on his cellphone—. In 11 minutes, when Christina has returned to the lab and its 11:00 am, she will send a D-Mail to the past. You will be the receiver, and that message will be programmed to arrive exactly 10 minutes before the message I sent you this morning. The content of the message will be "I Hououin Kyouma, Great Mad Scientist and your Master! I order you, Lukako, my disciple, to go to the laboratory as soon as possible. Additionally, ignore any other possible message from me that you may receive in the next minutes -El Psy Congroo" —Okabe took a moment to observe the reaction of Lukako, who was clearly connecting all the information Okabe had given to him. —Do you understand the purpose of this, Lukako?

Lukako blinked. Being aware of Kyouma's eyes staring at him; He could not help but blush a little.

—Kyouma-san... He wants to change the past to activate the R-Redin Stainer, right...? —Said Luka, trying to pronounce the name of his special ability correctly. Although he was pretty sure he hadn't been successful, considering Okabe's frown.

—Um, yes… —He said and waited a few seconds—. The objective of this operation is to use the D-Mail to modify the actions of Lukako during this morning. So if everything turns out as theorized, once the message is sent, the past will be changed and Lukako will experience the activation of the Reading Steiner. That way, Lukako will go from being here, with me in the park, to being in the lab with the others. —Okabe smiled, as if impressed by his own ingenuity—. Oh, I almost forgot it. The others in the lab will be waiting for you to give them a password.

—A password? —Luka remembered the conversation with Kurisu.

—Indeed, Lukako. To definitively prove the amazing ability of your Reading Steiner, yesterday among all the lab members we created a password, and I ordered them to ask you about it when you arrived at the lab —Luka nodded slowly, understanding the test that Okabe had prepared.

—So... If the past changes and instead of coming here, I go to the laboratory and say the correct password... It will be proven that my R-Rideng St-taner is real.

Okabe didn't try to correct him this time, instead he smiled satisfied.

—Exactly Lukako. Pretty insightful of you. Once again, you show the reason why you were chosen to be a disciple of me, Hououin Kyouma! —He said proudly and Luka blushed and responded with a small smile—. Anyway, it's time I got to the point —Seriousness returned to his expression—. Listen well Lukako. Pay a lot of attention because I'm not going to repeat myself —Luka couldn't help but to get a little nervous at the sudden serious atmosphere—. The password —Okabe let a few seconds pass before continuing—. T-The p-password is... —He repeated with difficulty and the seriousness on his face began to change to a mixture of shame and anger, his face beginning to show red tints—. "DARLING IS AN IDIOT"!  **(2)**  —Okabe exclaimed, any appearance of calm already gone.

—What?! —Luka could not help but recoil, totally terrified.

Had he done something wrong to offend Okabe without noticing?

No. More importantly. Had Okabe called him "darling"?

—THAT IS THE PASSWORD! —Okabe screeched to get his attention. Apparently the sudden change in Luka's expression and the way he had begun to tremble had been enough to alert him that his words had been misinterpreted—. Is Daru and that third-rate assistant´s fault! They chose that password and convinced Mayuri to betray me! I was going to use something meaningful and classy but they said that all my passwords were too predictable!

—D-Darling is an i-idiot...? —Luka could not help but murmur.

—D-DO NOT REPEAT IT! —Okabe screeched once again—. JUST SAYING IT ONCE WAS EMBARRASSING ENOUGH! I don't want to hear it again!

Luka nodded, relaxing a little, and remained silent while Okabe regained his composure.

—...A-Anyway, Lukako. That would be all. Any questions? —Luka denied—. Well, then we'll see again on other timeline —Okabe said with finality and crossed his arms.

And nothing more happened.

Seconds of uncomfortable silence passed until Luka took a moment to look at his wristwatch; It was 10:56 a.m. Only 4 minutes until Kurisu send the D-Mail. But to wait 4 minutes in a silence like that...

Then Luka became aware of something he had ignored.

Turning to look around he could confirm it. There was no one else in the park besides him and Okabe.

Luka could not help but start getting nervous again.

At the present moment, until the necessary time passed, Okabe and him were the only people at the vicinity.

And once those minutes had passed and the D-Mail were sent, everything that had happened would be erased and the only person able to remember it would be Luka...

Thousands of thoughts began to arise in his mind at the same time, and many of them made him want to die of embarrassment.

However, as soon as those thoughts came up, his mind cleared up. He had received an opportunity in a million and could not waste it. There was something he wanted to ask Okabe for quite some time now, but for what he hadn't had enough courage.

This time, however, Luka had nothing to lose. It was curious, his confidence in Okabe was so great that it didn't even occurred to him how he would deal with the consequences of his question if Okabe's theory turned out to be wrong.

—K-Kyouma-san! —Luka exclaimed to get Okabe's attention, while he was distracted by checking his cell phone.

—Is something wrong, Lukako? —Asked Okabe, looking up at Luka.

—I-I... —Luka tried to calm down. He needed to know the answer to that question—. I want to know... What... What did O-Okabe-san saw as special about me? —Luka managed to finish, forgetting to call Okabe by his nickname.

Okabe opened his eyes in surprise. It was a simple question.

But normally that kind of "simple" questions were the most difficult to answer.

—Lukako … —Okabe said in a low voice.

Before he could say anything else, Luka continued.

—O-Okabe-san... You saved me that time in the streets of Akiba. There was no reason for you to intervene. But you still did... Even if it was just me —Luka couldn't help but lower his eyes—. Someone like me... Okabe-san wasn't upset or disappointed to learn the truth. Okabe-san did not abandon me instantly as I believed that any other person would do in the same circumstances. In fact Okabe-san continued to help me even after that... —A small smile flashed on his face for a moment, before being replaced by a frown—. But I... I just can't figure it out... Why?

Okabe watched him with his mouth open, but without saying a word.

—Okabe-san is among the few people who have shown me such kindness... E-Even though I'm so w-weak and pathetic —Luka could feel the tears starting to fall down his face—. E-Even though I'm not able to meet the expectations that are expected from me as a boy, d-despite how hard I've tried to do it... D-Despite the help that O-Okabe-san and the others have given to me... I-I haven't managed to change... And I-I'm not sure if I can anymore —Luka started trying to wipe away his tears—. I am not worthy of the kindness and friendship of O-Okabe-san, Mayuri and the others... I fail to all of you, and I don't even know what to do to show how sorry I am... So... Why...? Why Okabe-san-?

—LUKAKO IS AN IDIOT! —Okabe shouted totally furious, enough to not even notice the irony in his exact choice of words.

And Luka couldn't but remain speechless. Finally he had done it. He had finally ended with Okabe's patience. Luka watched Okabe approaching him and closed his eyes accepting his fate whatever it was.

—Open your eyes Lukako! —Luka felt Okabe's grip on his shoulders and opened his eyes in surprise—. And listen to me as carefully as you can because I do not intend to repeat this again... I, HOUOUIN KYOUMA, GREAT MAD SCIENTIST, DO NOT HAVE ANY TIME TO WASTE IN WEAK, PATHETIC AND WORTHLESS PEOPLE! —Lukako could feel his heart breaking. It was the end approaching—. SO BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAY THAT LUKAKO IS NONE OF THOSE THINGS! —And those simple words were enough for his heart to start beating again—. WEAKNESSES, CANONS AND EXPECTATIONS!? ALL ILLUSIONS! LIES OF THE ORGANIZATION! LIES THAT HAVE MADE LUKAKO SUFFER ALL THIS TIME, AND THAT HAVE PREVENTED YOU FROM UNDERSTAND AND ACCEPT YOUR POTENTIAL! THAT HAVE PREVENTED THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF MY DEAR DISCIPLE! SO I, HOUOUIN KYOUMA, FUTURE LORD OF THIS AND ALL THE WORLDS IN EXISTENCE, WILL TAKE ALL THOSE WEAKNESSES, ALL THOSE CANONS AND ALL THOSE EXPECTATIONS THAT HAVE HURT LUKAKO AND, AS THE GREAT MAD SCIENTIST THAT I AM, WILL DESTROY, OBLITERATE AND SEND THEM TO THE OBLIVION, NO MATTER THE COST...! —Okabe took a moment to breathe. Once his anger subsided to acceptable levels, he let go of Luka's shoulders—. Because Lukako is not weak, he is not pathetic and he doesn't have to force himself to meet anyone's expectations or change who he is... Lukako is Lukako, and all those idiots out there who say otherwise are the ones who must change and accept the kind of person that Lukako is.

It was hard for Luka to find something to say after that. So he decided to not force the situation, and say nothing.

There was silence again between them, but this time Luka felt no discomfort. His heart was beating too fast and he felt too much happiness to be able to feel uncomfortable.

Luka finished drying the tears, looked at Okabe and Okabe looked back at him. Their eyes met at the same time that a small electronic sound coming from Okabe's phone indicated that it was already 11:00 am. Luka found the right words to say and a smile came to his face

—Thanks —Then Luka felt the universe changing and rebuilding itself around him.

* * *

Luka blinked. He was no longer in the park, but in a closed space, one that he knew very well.

The people in the room: Mayuri, Kurisu and Daru, looked at him confused, having noticed the sudden change in his expression.

—It worked...? —Kurisu asked.

As Okabe had planned with her the previous day, a D-Mail written by himself had made Luka accompany her directly to the Laboratory, instead of going to the park as it was ordered by the original message that Okabe had sent in the morning. However, from their initial meeting in the morning, Luka seemed ignorant about the exact details of the test that Okabe had planned and didn't knew about the password that Daru and she had created; so her acceptance of the Reading Steiner had not yet been cemented.

Luka answered everyone's looks with a slight smile but said nothing. He still needed to wait for him to arrive. It wasn't long before Luka could hear the footsteps of someone approaching at high speed.

The door burst open and Okabe entered the room, breathing with some difficulty and his face covered in sweat, understandable, considering that he had came from the park running. After taking a few seconds to compose himself, Okabe looked up and his eyes were fixed Luka, grinning madly.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on him. This was his moment. Instead of the typical discomfort and embarrassment he felt at being the center of attention, this time Luka experienced a tide of tranquility and warmth taking away and getting rid of all the negative feelings he had been experimenting those past days.

Luka answered Okabe's smile with one of his own and said the password.

**Author's Note:**

> And thats all, I hope you liked it.
> 
> (1) In case youdon't know the term, it refers to the so-called "Syndrome of the eighth grade", which consists basically on preteens and teens acting as characters from fantasy settings and stuff like that. Okabe's eccentric attitude fits perfectly into it.
> 
> (2) It makes reference to one of Kurisu´s Gadget from another timeline, and that was named like that by Daru. This happens in the romcom spinoff Steins, Gates: Darling of the Loving Vows (Hiyoku Renri No darling). If you don't know it, I recommend you to look for theenglish translated gameplay at YouTube. Luka (boy) has a route, along with the other girls, including Moeka.
> 
> I plan to, eventually, make a sequel for this story. This time it will be multichapter, although do not expect anything serious or dramatic. It's going to be a funny and light story.
> 
> Anyways, I would greatly appreciate any criticism you may give me.
> 
> Have a nice day!


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